Lamine Yamal may be just 17 years old but he is already a superstar in his own right. What he has done in the world of football in the past 12 months is close to unthinkable and he has started the season on rampant form.
The teenager became the latest face of the prestigious football magazine, France Football after being nominated for the Ballon d’Or this year. He might not win that trophy this year but he is the firm favorite to lift the Kopa Trophy.
The fact that he even finds himself in the Ballon d’Or nominations is frankly ridiculous but his performances week in and week out do not make it a surprising inclusion. Yamal has set very high standards for himself.
With so much fame, one certainly needs a level head and at just 17, Lamine Yamal is already showing signs of being very mature. He isn’t getting carried away by the accolades that he is receiving.
In an interview with the French publication as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Lamine Yamal has delved deeper into idolizing Neymar Jr. at a young age. Here is what the Spanish wonderkid had to say:
“At that time, I remember Neymar was at Santos, Messi obviously… Messi, Villa, Pedro… All from Barcelona. Those are the first images that made me see football.”
“Since I was little, with my father and mother at home, that’s the first thing I remember. After school, we would go to a friend’s house because he had a computer, and we would watch videos of Neymar. We spent the whole afternoon watching there. Then I would go home and do the same in my room.”
The Brazilian legend was a different beast at both Santos and Barcelona. He used to be talked about during his teenage years like Yamal is currently and it comes as no surprise that the €120m-rated Barcelona prodigy had him as his role model.
That said, one more thing that Yamal can learn from his role model is that talent can only get you so far and it’s important to show commitment to the game. Neymar lost his way somewhere along the way and now finds himself playing in Saudi Arabia.
As difficult as it may be, it’s important to let Lamine enjoy his football and not get weighed down by the pressure of expectations. He has made a dream start to his career and let’s hope this is just the start of things to come.
